“As your counsel rightly pointed out at 60mph you would travel 27 metres in one second.

“In other words, if the bike braked you would hit it at 60mph before you could even begin to brake.

“The risk of a catastrophic collision causing the death of the rider of the bike was therefore very high.”

The court heard Mr Hutchings was driving a motorbike when he was struck by Barnes’ red Ford Fiesta after being chased for one-and-a-half miles.

Barnes was trying to find his brother Gary’s stolen off-road trials motorbike after hearing that it had been spotted in the St James area of Northampton.

Prosecutor Peter Joyce QC said: “David Barnes did go from Daventry to Northampton with Craig Turner in an attempt to find the stolen bike and the result of that search was this defendant was involved in a determined and dangerous pursuit in Northampton.”

Barnes was sentenced to nine years in jail at Birmingham Crown Court (Geograph)

James House QC, defending, said: “There was no intention when David Barnes set out that day to cause harm to anyone, let alone the death of someone.

“He accepts that he drove too fast and too close, and that his driving was dangerous. He acknowledges he made a mistake.”

Detective Inspector Stuart Hitchon, from Northamptonshire Police CID, said: “This has been a tragic case where a young man has sadly lost his life.

“Even though the case has concluded today, the family remain devastated knowing that they will never see Stuart again.

“His daughter was only born a few weeks ago and she will grow up without her father.”